Engraving Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord

An interpretive engraving by Boucher-Desnoyers (1779-1857), created using the etching technique enhanced with a burin, based on a portrait of Talleyrand-Périgord, Prince of Benevento, by Gérard (1770-1837), held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Talleyrand commissioned the painting in...

An interpretive engraving by Boucher-Desnoyers (1779-1857), created using the etching technique enhanced with a burin, based on a portrait of Talleyrand-Périgord, Prince of Benevento, by Gérard (1770-1837), held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Talleyrand commissioned the painting in 1807 from the painter François Gérard, whom he knew personally. At the time, he had just resigned from his post as Minister of Foreign Affairs following political disagreements with Napoleon. He is depicted with a calm and serene demeanor, shown at work in a relatively simple and intimate interior. A few additions were made to the portrait at a later date at Talleyrand's request following the Congress of Vienna in 1815. In particular, the painter added the Order of the Golden Fleece and made changes to the Legion of Honor, thus reflecting the politician's shifts in allegiance.